Oxbow Western Timothy Hay Small Animal Food

When the package first arrived I was really impressed with how it was delivered in pristine condition. When I opened it the top layer seemed really great with amazing quality. There was a note inside from the company saying that since I had ordered the 50 pound version they did not quality check it like they would have with the smaller sizes and that there would be parts that would be unusable and have to be thrown away. I was OK with that at the time as it didn’t seem like much would have to be thrown away. As I have gone through this hay I have found that quite a bit of it was unusable and brown. Overall I guess that it’s still an okay value for the amount of unusable hay, I just wish that When the package first arrived I was really impressed with how it was delivered in pristine condition. When I opened it the top layer seemed really great with amazing quality. There was a note inside from the company saying that since I had ordered the 50 pound version they did not quality check it like they would have with the smaller sizes and that there would be parts that would be unusable and have to be thrown away. I was OK with that at the time as it didn’t seem like much would have to be thrown away. As I have gone through this hay I have found that quite a bit of it was unusable and brown. Overall I guess that it’s still an okay value for the amount of unusable hay, I just wish that I would have bought smaller packs so that I would (presumably) have more usable hay. … more

Around July, we got a bale that was beautiful and green and fragrant for our bunnies. We have tried this hay about 5 times since (50 lb bale) and it is extremely awful. The hay is more like straw and my bunnies will NOT eat it. It is so massive that it fills up their litter box in two days, meaning I have to change their litter more, which is costing me money. I also have been developing allergies to the bale, which I never had to any hay before and I've had buns for years. I am seriously disappointed in oxbow. I hope Chewy has other hay to offer.

This is my second time ordering the 50 lb box of timothy hay from Oxbow. It always comes fresh and green and my three piggies love it. This past box had tons of seed heads, which the love to each. The last one was more leafy, but either way they finished both boxes! For three guinea pigs this lasts me about 5 months. This giant box also gets the free two day shipping! :)

I have been using Oxbow Hay for several months after a frustrating search for good timothy hay. My latest order was not good. The guniea pigs leave most of it. It is hard, dry and not very fragrant. I am wondering if Oxbow is having an issue with their farms. Chewy.com was very nice and sent me a new shipment of hay. I am hoping it will be better than this last order. I also wrote a letter to Oxbow. I hope they can explain what has happened and what they plan to do to fix the problem.

I've written to Oxbow directly, with phitographs, about the declining quality of their hay. I'm also leaving a review here. Nearly 50% of ths time I am disappointed in the hay I receive lately. The bag I just opened a few minutes ago is extremely hard and dry with feet-long strands of straw. It's total rubbish! I've also complained about a bag which was full of brown, wilted-looking junk grass. I've always been pleased with Oxbow products in the past, but can no longer recommend. It's a shame, I have three guinea pigs and I've spent hundreds of dollars on their products. Such a shame!

I've been very lucky with finding good quality products for inexpensive prices in my time of owning guinea pigs, but this may be the best find yet. I do have a slight issue, however, which I will get into later. Before anything else, I'd like to say that my first order was absolutely incredible! The hay was fantastically fresh and sweet smelling, green, and soft. I couldn't have been happier. Before writing this review, I've already gone through an entire 50 lb box and have purchased another to see about this poor quality control that everyone is speaking of. If I had written a review only about the first box, I'd have given this product a 5 star rating and recommended it to anyone, and I mean I've been very lucky with finding good quality products for inexpensive prices in my time of owning guinea pigs, but this may be the best find yet. I do have a slight issue, however, which I will get into later. Before anything else, I'd like to say that my first order was absolutely incredible! The hay was fantastically fresh and sweet smelling, green, and soft. I couldn't have been happier. Before writing this review, I've already gone through an entire 50 lb box and have purchased another to see about this poor quality control that everyone is speaking of. If I had written a review only about the first box, I'd have given this product a 5 star rating and recommended it to anyone, and I mean absolutely anyone. However, my second box did have an issue. It was coarse, not very green, and didn't smell nearly as nice as my first box. Was I happy? No, but I figured my guinea pigs would still eat it. Turns out, they wouldn't, and that was a major issue. I did email the support team at Chewy.com about the poor quality, and they were so unbelievably kind! Seriously, some of the nicest people I've ever met, and definitely the best support I've ever contacted. I explained to them what had happened and we worked everything out. All the while they were so helpful and kind. They ended up shipping me another entire box for free, which I have not yet received so I can't talk quality. Seriously though, who else would do that? THEY ARE SO NICE! Basically, I would definitely recommend buying this, and if it isn't right, just ask. You won't regret it. … more

I've noticed that when I purchase smaller size bags of OXBOW TIMOTHY HAY, all I get in the bags are VERY HARD REED-LIKE STALKS!!! When I purchased a 50lb. box of the same hay from the same company, I received a VERY HIGH QUALITY of hay, mostly the blades of grass or hay. I don't think that's fair, just because I chose to order a smaller amount I get a lower quality. TWO 9 lb bags. Sometimes I'm not able to purchase a 50 lb box, but that shouldn't be a reason to be given a lower quality like this!!!! I know that it's NOT CHEWY.COM's fault that this happens. But, could you please forward this email to OXBOW.I'm going to spend my day PEELING AWAY the pieces of hay from the REED-LIKE STALKS I've noticed that when I purchase smaller size bags of OXBOW TIMOTHY HAY, all I get in the bags are VERY HARD REED-LIKE STALKS!!! When I purchased a 50lb. box of the same hay from the same company, I received a VERY HIGH QUALITY of hay, mostly the blades of grass or hay. I don't think that's fair, just because I chose to order a smaller amount I get a lower quality. TWO 9 lb bags. Sometimes I'm not able to purchase a 50 lb box, but that shouldn't be a reason to be given a lower quality like this!!!! I know that it's NOT CHEWY.COM's fault that this happens. But, could you please forward this email to OXBOW.I'm going to spend my day PEELING AWAY the pieces of hay from the REED-LIKE STALKS, so that my Guinea Pigs can have hay to eat!!! I only gave it 1 star because a rating was required!!! … more

I have been ordering oxbow hay for quite some time now. It was told to me that it is the best hay to buy and for a while it was. Wonderful soft aromatic green fresh hay. Not anymore. Box after box I get is dry brittle course hay all full of stalks. All I can compare it to is like unbroken spaghetti strands. All entwined together you cannot even pull it apart. My rabbits and Guinea Pig have to dig through the pile to get to the good bits, then in the morning I am throwing away a pile of course dry stalks that are left. I must throw away half the 50 lb box. I keep ordering hoping one day it goes back to the way it was as at this time I cannot find a hay better. Chewy service is wonderful but I have been ordering oxbow hay for quite some time now. It was told to me that it is the best hay to buy and for a while it was. Wonderful soft aromatic green fresh hay. Not anymore. Box after box I get is dry brittle course hay all full of stalks. All I can compare it to is like unbroken spaghetti strands. All entwined together you cannot even pull it apart. My rabbits and Guinea Pig have to dig through the pile to get to the good bits, then in the morning I am throwing away a pile of course dry stalks that are left. I must throw away half the 50 lb box. I keep ordering hoping one day it goes back to the way it was as at this time I cannot find a hay better. Chewy service is wonderful but there has to be some other better more consistent hay they can sell. Hay is 80% of their diets, I NEED GOOD HAY!!! It is not a treat, this is for their health. Oxbow what is going on with your product??? … more

This one used to be delivered in a bag that is on the picture - I ordered several times. The last time it arrived in a see-though packaging, the hay is really hard - thick straws that my guineas eat with less enthusiasm, plus the hay is pressed into the bag so hard that it is troublesome for me to even extract some to feed the guineas. Not sure what happened to the Oxbow - have been using their hay for a long time.

The first order we received for this product was high quality: the hay was softer, fresher, fewer tough stalks. The second bag we received was very different in quality: extremely dry, lots of hay "dust", predominantly tough stalks, hard to handle and stuff/dispense. Hoping the third and future orders are more like the first.